Two
by Shmorgasopoly
Summary: A strange mare comes to settle near Spirit and his herd. But what she intends to do threatens to turn the herd on its head. An AU so slight you have to read an author's note to find it.
1. Prologue

**I don't own any of the characters in Spirit; the only things I do own are the plot & the white mare.**

**I came up with this idea when I was on vacation, I think it's a pretty good story, and so do the other two people that have read it. I hope you will like it too.**

**One more thing: **_Thoughts are in italics. _

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Prologue

She peered through the trees, her blue eyes never shying. Those eyes swept across the landscape before her and the stony-cold gaze those eyes cast came to rest on a single being.

"_You! You have taken from me all that I have ever cared!" _Her mind screamed.

She realized the risk she took in just standing there, so, with revenge and hatred in her heart, she slunk away.


	2. A Mare and a Storm

**I still don't own anything but the plot & the white mare.**

**Okay, I know wild mares don't have territories, and their almost always seen with stallions, but for the sake of this story, I bent the rules a bit.**

**And also, for the sake of this story, unlike the movie, it takes place in the present day. (This is the AU part, in case you were wondering.)**

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A Mare and a Storm

**One month later…**

A lone white mare stood at attention, her blue eyes ever vigilant in her search for intruders.

She stepped off of the little knoll, which was one of her preferred spots for keeping watch, and rolled in the grass of her small, but valuable, territory.

A stiff wind rolled across the planes, and whipped her mane into a tangle.

Her subconscious mind told her that it was time to move on, to find another place that would serve as a home for a few months.

"Not today," She told her restless mind "A storm will blow in, and taking refuge will be a top priority."

She has familiarized herself with every inch of her territory of her territory, and remembered a cave that will provide shelter.

She picked up a canter and made her way from the open plane, and into a small forest, picking her way carefully through the dense underbrush.

She reached the cave and entered slowly, the sound of the clicking of her hooves on the hard floor amplified ten times by the acoustics of the cave.

Her eyes came to rest of a small spring-fed pool. She walked over to it, and lay beside it. She looked into this pools and mutters,

"I can't leave this home, for I think I have found my home."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Spirit! We must find shelter from the storm!" Esperanza shrieked over the rising wind.

"There's an overhang on a cliff near here! We can shelter there!" Spirit replied.

He gathered his band and headed for the cliff.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The white mare heard the wind howling outside the shelter of the cave. Tree branches scraped against everything, sending eerie scratches emanating from whatever they had come into contact with.

The mare was not afraid, she had been in much worse storms than this one, and she knew it would pass quickly, it was part of summer.

She let the sounds of the storm relax her, and in a few minutes, she drifted off into a light sleep.


	3. Confrontation

**I own nothing but the plot & Two.**

**This is the first chapter where the story actually starts to pick up a bit, so just bear with me! A lot of my stories are like this.**

**I borrowed a phase from the summary of FantasyWorld, because I thought that they'd fit into this story. So don't sue me on that one either!**

**Last thing: I just realized that this is un-betaed, so all mistakes are mine and mine alone. **

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Confrontation

The mare awoke to the sound of nothing, and exited the cave. Her legs were stiff and she felt the urge to run to the highest point in her territory, the cliffs that bordered another horse's territory.

Her long rugged legs carried her to the top of the cliff in swift graceful movements.

She took a long look at her territory, and decided that this may be her permanent home.

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This was a corner of Spirit's territory that was not frequently inhabited by his band, so he took a very good look around. Looking to the right, he spotted a lone, white mare standing perfectly still atop this cliff.

"What do you see?" Rain asked him.

"There's a mare up there, maybe I can convince her to join the band." Spirit replied.

Getting up the cliff on Spirit's side was substantially harder, and the mare heard him, but paid no attention to him.

"Hello," Spirit introduced himself "I'm Spirit, who are you?"

"Fate has dealt me many names; you will address me by the name of Two." She answered in a very deadpan voice.

Spirit was a bit shocked at Two's response, but that feeling passed quickly. All he had to do now was shrug off the feeling that he had seen this mare before.

Two sensed his hesitation when he had received her response.

"_Not many stallions understand me. No, strike that last statement, not many horses can understand me" _She thought.

There was an awkward silence between the two before Spirit spoke again.

"You are welcome to join my band."

"Currently," Two said "I have everything, yet nothing. If I joined you, I would lose my everything and be left with my nothing. The proverbial scales would tip, and I would lose the level of harmony I have established in my life. There are forces that are not meant to be tampered with, and we both walk a fine line between two different forces. You threaten to corrupt my balance and me, I have corrupted some, and I may corrupt others, but for now, I must try to walk as close to the path fate has placed me upon."

This was not the first time Two had preached this lesson to a stallion, but this time she had said it very differently than the others. She had spoken the whole truth, as always, but this time she concealed her past wrong-doings as she had no intention of hinting to Spirit who she truly was, or the fact that the cogs and gears were rotating madly as her head produced the plot for revenge that had been nagging at the back of her head since she was about nine months old. A plot whose production had been whipped into high gear ever since she witnessed Spirit as he went about his daily business at a pond in his territory, approximately one month before.


	4. Two's Promice

**Ah, yes, another "excuse" for not updating. Although my computer really was having a four-day long "moment"! **

**Once again, I own nothing but the plot & Two**

**Also, this is still un-betaed.**

**Last, but not least, a good portion of the next few chapters is flashback, but I hope you will find it helpful. The flashbacks are in **_italics._

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Rain was used to Spirit taking some time with new mares, but this was getting ridiculous. Almost any mare was quick in joining this band, because of its large size; it was very safe and provided much companionship. Almost any mare would prefer to live in such a setting.

Almost any.

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Spirit began to spout unintelligible mutters. He was smart; no doubt about that, but this mare put a whole new spin on the word "smart".

Many mares were hesitant, either they were already in a band, or they had some other tie to their home, but this was the first mare that had downright refused Spirit's request.

Or, so he thought, he had a pretty good feeling that she just told him no.

Two was moving further down the cliff, she really wanted to be away from Spirit, _really_ wanted to.

"Yeah, he's still in shock from my refusal, I'll bet, but first it would have been me, then it would have been my territory, who knows where it would have gone from there?" She muttered.

Two was not fond of traveling in large groups, she preferred traveling with one or two companions, or alone, it was the way she was raised.

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_The night was descending, and she had been walking for many hours, but she never fell back, she always looked ahead with stubborn determination._

_Cirrus admired his eight-month-old daughter; she would grow up to be a fine mare one day. _

_Cirrus was a large fellow, 17.2 hands and jet black. His body bore the scars of many battles, making him look like he could kill anything that would be fool enough to stand in his path._

_He looked back; his band was small, consisting of silver, himself, and his foal-hood friend, a little pony called Blacklegs. _

"It is best," _Cirrus thought "_That my band is small, nomads such as us should not travel in large groups, and we can be followed easier in large numbers."

"_Where are we going?" Silver asked. _

"_Ah, Silver, my little Two, we are going south. There are vast bands oh horses where we are going. But you must promise me one thing; you mustn't ever join one of those bands. They may look pleasant, but once you believe you have found the land of milk and honey, some hotheaded, young stallion will bring you world crashing down." Cirrus replied_

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Two had upheld her father's wishes thus far, and she was determined not to let this stallion break her promise.


	5. Clash

**I own nothing but the plot & Two**

**Still un-betaed **

**Flashbacks are in **_italics_

**I'm starting to feel like a broken record**

**Thanks to starryequine & Fire Light1 for being my only two reviewers, and for Fire Light1 reminding me that horses use body language, so I hope I have improved in that area.**

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Two put her head down and stared at he ground. She knew the story behind her father's hatred of large bands and often turned to it for guidance.

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"_Blacklegs, why does my father despise large bands?"_

"_Ah, good question, it was a long time ago, before you were foaled…" He paused; this was always how he opened up a story. "You father and I lived together in a large band, such as the ones we will be seeing soon, and life was well. We had good grass, and good water. But, there was trouble on the horizon, our stallion, Cirrus's father, was growing old. One year we had a particularly hard winter, and our stallion lost much strength. The following spring a young, robust stallion drove him out. At this time, your father and I were about seven months old, too young to be driven out of the band. That never stopped the new stallion from trying. He kept cutting us out of the band, forcing us behind. This went on for a month, and one day he drove us out, and we, not even trying to put up a fight. He would have killed us anyway if we did. That, my Ginga Nagareboshi Gin, is the reason your father does not want you to join the large bands."_

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Spirit saw how depressed Two seemed to be, and walked up to her, he touched her shoulder with his nose to try and comfort her. Two pinned her ears back and wheeled around to face him.

"Get out, get off, leave, and go, _now_!" She spat.

Two had had it, with ears back and teeth bared, she lunged at Spirit and sunk her teeth into his neck.

Spirit was caught off balance, but quickly regained his footing. He stood alert, looking at Two while she danced around him.

"Come on, afraid to attack a mare?" Two taunted.

Two charged again, but Spirit saw it coming and dodged.

"I just don't want to hurt you." Spirit said calmly.

"I've experienced hurt in all forms; a bit more won't do much harm." Two commented.

Two half-trotted, half-cantered to Spirit and roughly grabbed the top of his neck. Spirit rose into the air, forcing Two to go with him. She teetered for a second on her hind legs before releasing Spirit. Spirit aimed a kick at Two's flank and hit his mark, bringing forth a small squeal of pain from Two.

Two and Spirit circled each other for a few seconds before running at each other, bringing the other up into a rear. Two hopped forward a bit in an attempt to push Spirit over, but she soon found herself being forced to get down on all fours again.

Spirit came at Two multiple times, with Two getting out of his path each time. Two quickly positioned herself in front of Spirit and delivered a series of low kicks to his legs, making Spirit falter and fall.

"Go," Two said between shallow, rapid breaths "I don't want to kill you."

Spirit slowly got up and staggered down his side of the cliff.

Once he was out of earshot, Two added to her statement, "Yet."


	6. Wait for What?

**Oh. My. God. I finally decided to update. Well, I should say that this next chapter was painfully hard to write, as I was out of ideas after the first four paragraphs. **

**Then I got this great idea. At 11:00 a couple nights ago. **

**So, let's just say that most of this chapter was written right before I was about to fall asleep.**

**Moving on, I would have to say that this chapter in very supernatural, with a bit of spiritual thrown in.**

**I really hope its good, because if it isn't, then I got happy with the fancy dictionary for nothing.**

**Last semi-important rant, the italics are telling about when Two is unconscious.**

**This is still un-betaed, and I still don't own anything.**

**So on with the Spiritual/Supernatural!**

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Spirit slowly and painfully shuffled back down to his band, catching the worried glances of some of the horses.

"I'm taking that it went horribly." Esperanza said.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Rain yelled frantically.

"Well," Spirit replied "Let's just say that 'get attacked by a mare' wasn't on today's to-do list."

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Two staggered down her side of the cliff. Every step she took filled her world with pain. What would have been a relatively short trip to her knoll was extended considerably.

She arrived at her knoll and sunk to the ground.

Sheer exhaustion made lifting her head up to make her glazed-over eyes drift down to the wound where Spirit's hooves bit into her flank a hard task, but she did it anyway.

The bleeding had subsided, but Two knew from previous encounters that she had lost much blood.

She let her head fall listlessly back to the Earth, where the only sound that could be heard was that of her labored breathing.

"I must stay conscious, I must stay conscious, I must…"

But her body failed her, and she drifted off into a black void.

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_Then there was white._

_Two looked around, but couldn't. Unable to move, she grasped control of her mind and forced her neck to turn to see the rest of her. She braced herself, waiting for the sharp jolt of pain to course through her._

_But it never came._

_The sight that she beheld filled her with horror, and yet, some chagrin. Although even among those emotions, a twinge of elation surged through her system._

_Her physical body was not there._

_Before her consciousness had time to dwell on this perplexing idea, a sound crack through the eerie stillness._

_A sound that resembled hooves striking concrete._

_A figure of a large, black horse appeared to materialize from nowhere._

_"Ah, my child, look how you have grown." The figure said._

_"Cirrus…F-Father!" Two stammered_

_"I have but one thing to say and that is you must wait."_

_"Wait for what?" Two questioned._

_"Time will tell, my little Two." Cirrus answered._

_With that Cirrus took one step back, and his form dematerialized, long black tendrils of conscious wisping away in random directions from where he last stood._

_"Two's world of white faded, traveling through every shade of grey before concluding in a decrescendo of black._


	7. Who Needs Them?

**First off, I would like to say that I have had 300 hits & only 4 reviews! Where are those reviews!**

**Next, this is the first chapter that I have typed off my head in this story, so I'm just warning you if it gets a little funky in some parts.**

**Okay, so this chapter isn't all too interesting, it's kind of just a filler chapter that should kick off the next little predicament. **

**This is the first chapter where the alternate universe part comes into play. If you can remember, it's the story taking place in the modern day, not circa 1800 like in the movie.**

**I still don't own anything you don't recognize, and I still have no beta for this. **

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A rasp of a tongue on her flank brought Two to consciousness.

"Have I died and this is my spirit looking down on my body being feasted upon by a large killer?" Two moaned in her deadpan voice.

"Not quite, sister," The cougar replied "I'm just trying to clean your wounds up some."

"I am a pathetic excuse for an equine; I am consorting with my enemies."

"Well, oh well." The cougar said.

Two shifted uncomfortable to where she was laying with her legs tucked under her.

"What goes on, friend?" Two asked.

"Oh, you know…same old, same old. Only thing to report is that a couple more of us are dead because we're trying to hunt, or defend our young. Not that I have anything against humans, it's just that they always get in the way! They take our food, encroach upon our habitats," She snarled "And kill our cubs."

"Then maybe you do have something against them." Two replied.

"Hmph; wouldn't be the first time. Stay here, I'll get you something to eat."

"Nothing too dry!" Two reminded the cougar as she slunk away.

The sun grew high in the sky when the cougar returned, sporting a rather large mouthful of grasses.

"I'm sorry I took as long as I did," The cougar apologized, "there's a tasty patch of catnip growing not far off and I just had to have some."

"I can sympathize." Two said.

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The pain in Spirit's legs had diminished to a small ache. He climbed up the cliff once again, out of his concern for Two. He found the trail that Two used to gain access to and from the cliff.

He looked right, nothing. He looked left, still nothing. Confident in his prediction that Two wasn't around here, he trotted straight.

The cougar was half asleep on Two, when the sound of hooves awoke her. Two had her neck up as high as it would go, and kept her ears pointed forward, listening to the sound.

Spirit appeared from behind a tree. The cougar tensed, ready to attack, Spirit saw her, and braced himself for an impact.

"In the name of all things sacred! Cool it, both of you!"

The cougar and Spirit relaxed at Two's command.

"Some horses are just like humans, who needs them?" The cougar retorted.

"Yeah, who needs humans?" Two replied.


	8. Two's Secret

**Well, I'll stop being pesky about reviews, just read it and review at your will. **

**This is the second to last chapter, and, depending on if I feel like it, there may be a sequel, but I highly doubt that. If there is, I bet it'll be in another fandom.**

**This is defiantly the chapter where the AU part comes in.**

**Still un-betaed, and I still don't own anything pertaining to the movie, just the plot, and any characters you don't recognize.**

**Thoughts and flashbacks will be in italics.**

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The retort was made, the staring contest had begun. The world was silent, waiting to see who would win the eternal battle between predator and prey.

"Hey! Both of you had better calm down!" Two yelled

The cougar and Spirit looked Two's way, there was a pause. Then the cougar grunted and walked off.

Two rose to her feet. She glared at Spirit and he glanced at the ground.

"I still hate you." She said

Spirit was about to reply when Two craned her neck and flicked her ears madly. He eyes rolled about in her head, showing off the whites. She took a few panicked steps back and squealed loudly.

"Th-th-there back." Two stammered.

"_Great," _Spirit thought "_Now she's gone completely insane on me." _

But then he heard it. A whirring sound, a sound reminiscent of an insect, only much larger, and it seemed to be heading their way.

"Humans," Two said "They've come to take away our freedom, I don't know about you, but I'm not letting them catch me a third time. Come on, we need to take your band to safety."

Two and Spirit sprinted through the landscape, up the cliff, and down the other side. The band was freaking out. Some horses were running every which way, mares were desperately trying to collect their foals, and the general theme was chaos.

All worried eyes fell upon Spirit as he descended down the cliff.

"We need to run either perpendicular from the humans, or parallel, in the opposite direction from them." Two instructed.

Spirit weighed the options; there were young foals that couldn't make the climb up the cliff. He circled around the terrified group of horses and gathered them together. He took the lead and galloped off, with Two a step behind him, and his band in tow.

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Five minutes, ten minutes, still, they were nowhere near escaping the pursuing helicopter.

Another helicopter appeared, spooking Spirit's band into another direction. Spirit cried out frantically for them, but with no avail.

Two urged Spirit onward, not looking back.

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The sun began to sink lower in the sky, and Two and Spirit were exhausted, and in unknown territory.

"Look," Two gasped "A cave."

Spirit didn't reply, just nodded, and together they set off for the only shelter in miles.

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_Two looked around wide-eyed at the sight of so many horses. This was a new experience for her, a memory to be cherished. _

_She was always receiving strange glances; very few horses native to this area had ever seen a band as small._

"_Well, this looks like the place; we'll hang around here for a few days, and then continue onward." Cirrus said._

_Cirrus was completely at ease, but there was another horse that didn't feel the same way._

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"Well, my egotistical acquaintance, this looks like the place for tonight."

The reply she received was a snort.

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Several hours passed. Two paced across the width of the cave, very uptight about Spirit's presence.

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_A young stallion stood atop a cliff, gazing intently on the trio of horses below._

_Two kept her back turned to her father memorizing every ripple of the plain beyond her._

_Suddenly, there was the blur of a dun horse, and the clash of bodies. A few seconds of fight before Cirrus dropped to the ground, his jugular vein sliced. _

_Two inched over to her father's motionless body and sniffed it. She knew what had happened to him, and backed away slowly, before wheeling around and galloping off in the opposite direction, leaving one dumbstruck Blacklegs to mourn in silence._

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"Will you stop that, you're creeping me out again!" Spirit commanded.

Two paid him no heed.

"Seriously, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong," Two yelled "I'll tell you what's wrong. You are the bastard that killed my father!"


	9. Blacklegs

**I know I may be wrapping this story up a bit too fast, but I've no other idea to end it with.**

**To those who stuck with me to the end of this story, thanks!**

**One last time: Un-betaed and I don't own the movie.**

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Spirit was speechless; this was the little white filly whose father he had killed.

A figure moved out of the shadows, he had heard the commotion, and, although he was aging, thought it best to see what all the commotion was about and risk the fight.

"Who's there?" He rasped.

Two whipped her head around and thought she had a moment of déjà vu. Then she looked closer, and her eyes practically fell out of their sockets.

"Blacklegs!" She yelled.

She rushed over to him, and while marveling how this filly had grown up, saw who she was traveling with, and let out a squeal of anger.

"Blacklegs, calm down. Um, you know Spirit. Well, it seems he lost his band, have you seen any horses running wildly this way?" Two asked.

"Just a little while ago, they went north." Blacklegs replied.

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The tree spent the next few days gathering up Spirit's band. And at the end, Two looked back at Spirit with disdain in her eyes, and trotted off with Blacklegs, and she knew that there never may be another incident where she was pressed to destroy the promise she made to her father.


End file.
